In 1917 during World War I, she moved to Georgia to work as a schoolteacher. She later married Luther Cooper, and they raised four children together. He died in 1963 at age 68, according to The Walton Tribune.

She's been a widow for almost fifty years. That's saddening and quietly inspiring at the same time.

In 1917 during World War I, she moved to Georgia to work as a schoolteacher. She later married Luther Cooper, and they raised four children together. He died in 1963 at age 68, according to The Walton Tribune.

She's been a widow for almost fifty years. That's saddening and quietly inspiring at the same time.

This. And she was a teacher during WWI. That is just insane. She was a teacher before my grandparents were born (who died in their late 80s).

Congrats Mrs. Cooper, it's quite an accomplishment to have witnessed all that you have even if you weren't directly involved in much of it.

/born before powered flight, at the very dawn of the auto & before most of the other things we consider 'quaint' (records, radio, going to the movies, etc - yes they still are all around today but she was there when they weren't...)

Three-Fifty:If I find myself turning 116 100 75 someday, you can bet I will be looking for an opportunity to stage an "accident." No way would I want to be that old.

I want to go out reasonably healthy, cute, and with some $$ left to give to my nieces.

Please save this post for when you hit 40yo, then 60yo. see if your outlook is still 'too old'. I'm 65yo and I still kick it good, I'm not running marathons (thou, that's because I 'm not into it), but I have good times, without alcohol or rec drugs, almost every day. Your sentiments have been spoken by every kid for the last 1K years. You'll see the folly later.

...And who says you're 'cute' now? You have youth, I have depth. I'll beat you in attractiveness 8 outta 10.

Glockenspiel Hero:As always, consult the Onion for the best possible explanation for a long life: 114-Year-Old Attributes Longevity to Sheer Random Chance

LOL...shakes tiny fist.

Reminds me, though...these records will just keep growing longer and longer. Discounting my maternal grandfather who smoked unfiltered ciggies from the age of 7 until diagnosed with lung cancer at age 71 (and dying from it a year later), my grandparents all lived into their 80's or 90's, so I stand a fair chance of living a century. HIS parents lived to 80-something and 90-something. I'm almost 60, so given the pace of medical advances if I make it to 2020 my chances of seeing my 100th birthday approach unity. If I make it to 2040, my 200th is within reach. I have no reason to die, so hope to live indefinitely.

The secrets to a long life?1. good genes (can't help you there)2. get and keep your BMI under 18 (eat a hi-fat, lo-carb diet)3. don't smoke (quit if you do...studies show your longevity returns to normal after 2 years of non-smoking)4. keep your alcohol consumption to no more than 2 servings a day

StoneColdAtheist:Glockenspiel Hero: As always, consult the Onion for the best possible explanation for a long life: 114-Year-Old Attributes Longevity to Sheer Random Chance

LOL...shakes tiny fist.

The secrets to a long life?1. good genes (can't help you there)2. get and keep your BMI under 18 (eat a hi-fat, lo-carb diet)3. don't smoke (quit if you do...studies show your longevity returns to normal after 2 years of non-smoking)4. keep your alcohol consumption to no more than 2 servings a day

To All Ya'll: It's really too late to get in this lottery. You've got the genes ya got. But, if'n ya'll subscribe to the Heinlein method and marry people who's grandparents, or, better yet, great-grandparents are still living. Your lineage could become the long-age standard. You could be the ancester of Lasarus Long, the ageless wonder of "Time Enough for Love". Teach your children that, too.

Longer lifetimes will be helpfull in many ways. Your children won't need to be college educated, as the longevity will teach them more than any book. Longer lives will aid in space travel. as the distances will take time to navigate. Returns on stocks will be vastly improved by the length of time your portfolio matures.

Think it through before you marry. You'll love the one you're with, in either case.

StoneColdAtheist:Glockenspiel Hero: As always, consult the Onion for the best possible explanation for a long life: 114-Year-Old Attributes Longevity to Sheer Random Chance

LOL...shakes tiny fist.

Reminds me, though...these records will just keep growing longer and longer. Discounting my maternal grandfather who smoked unfiltered ciggies from the age of 7 until diagnosed with lung cancer at age 71 (and dying from it a year later), my grandparents all lived into their 80's or 90's, so I stand a fair chance of living a century. HIS parents lived to 80-something and 90-something. I'm almost 60, so given the pace of medical advances if I make it to 2020 my chances of seeing my 100th birthday approach unity. If I make it to 2040, my 200th is within reach. I have no reason to die, so hope to live indefinitely.

It doesn't work that way actually. The absolute maximum human lifespan seems to be ~120, and it hasn't moved significantly in basically forever. Only one person has ever made it past 120, and she died 15 years ago. Only 4 have ever made it past 116, none died in this century

The vast majority of the increase in lifespan is due over the past century is due to the reduction in childhood mortality. Vaccines and clean water are most of the rest, but lots of folks made it well into their 80s long ago provided they made it out of infancy. Look back the US founding fathers

We can nudge up the number a bit through better understanding of aging, diet, exercise and some medicine (My dad's 83 and still going strong) but the chances of you making to 200 without a breakthrough completely out of the blue are 0.

Glockenspiel Hero:StoneColdAtheist: Glockenspiel Hero: As always, consult the Onion for the best possible explanation for a long life: 114-Year-Old Attributes Longevity to Sheer Random Chance

LOL...shakes tiny fist.

Reminds me, though...these records will just keep growing longer and longer. Discounting my maternal grandfather who smoked unfiltered ciggies from the age of 7 until diagnosed with lung cancer at age 71 (and dying from it a year later), my grandparents all lived into their 80's or 90's, so I stand a fair chance of living a century. HIS parents lived to 80-something and 90-something. I'm almost 60, so given the pace of medical advances if I make it to 2020 my chances of seeing my 100th birthday approach unity. If I make it to 2040, my 200th is within reach. I have no reason to die, so hope to live indefinitely.

It doesn't work that way actually. The absolute maximum human lifespan seems to be ~120, and it hasn't moved significantly in basically forever. Only one person has ever made it past 120, and she died 15 years ago. Only 4 have ever made it past 116, none died in this century

The vast majority of the increase in lifespan is due over the past century is due to the reduction in childhood mortality. Vaccines and clean water are most of the rest, but lots of folks made it well into their 80s long ago provided they made it out of infancy. Look back the US founding fathers

We can nudge up the number a bit through better understanding of aging, diet, exercise and some medicine (My dad's 83 and still going strong) but the chances of you making to 200 without a breakthrough completely out of the blue are 0.

Washington would have made it, too, if they'd listened to the young doctor that wanted to pierce the trachea for a temporary breathing hole. Instead the other doctors kept bleeding him.

Mikeyworld:StoneColdAtheist: The secrets to a long life?1. good genes (can't help you there)2. get and keep your BMI under 18 (eat a hi-fat, lo-carb diet)3. don't smoke (quit if you do...studies show your longevity returns to normal after 2 years of non-smoking)4. keep your alcohol consumption to no more than 2 servings a day

To All Ya'll: It's really too late to get in this lottery. You've got the genes ya got. But, if'n ya'll subscribe to the Heinlein method and marry people who's grandparents, or, better yet, great-grandparents are still living. Your lineage could become the long-age standard. You could be the ancester of Lasarus Long, the ageless wonder of "Time Enough for Love". Teach your children that, too.

Longer lifetimes will be helpfull in many ways. Your children won't need to be college educated, as the longevity will teach them more than any book. Longer lives will aid in space travel. as the distances will take time to navigate. Returns on stocks will be vastly improved by the length of time your portfolio matures.

Think it through before you marry. You'll love the one you're with, in either case.

Hey, 3 out of 4 can't hurt! It's a matter of maximizing our chances, and at our ages we are right on the cusp of whether we can live long enough for active genetic intervention to come along and hoist us far enough down the timeline for technology to take over.

In my case, the genetic lottery certainly helps. My 60 y/o brother still has a full head of brown hair and 20/20 uncorrected vision. I also married well. My wife's parents are 89 & 88, and still drive, hike, live on their own and go out square dancing twice a week. My wife and I have been married 35+ years and I expect we'll hit 100 in another 6 decades.

I did let my weight get up into the obese range, though I'm half way back down to my college cross-country running weight. Not "dieting" per se. Just eliminated all the easy carbs (grains, starchy roots and legumes) from my diet and losing 1/2 to 1 lb a week...down 28 lbs in the past year. Makes me feel much better than I did (I had a mild 'cardiac event' a year and a half ago). My BP has dropped 50 points and my lipid panel improvement shocked my doctor (who admitted that 99% of patients never get better...because they are willing to take a pill, but not willing to change their lifestyle).

Glockenspiel Hero:StoneColdAtheist: Reminds me, though...these records will just keep growing longer and longer. Discounting my maternal grandfather who smoked unfiltered ciggies from the age of 7 until diagnosed with lung cancer at age 71 (and dying from it a year later), my grandparents all lived into their 80's or 90's, so I stand a fair chance of living a century. HIS parents lived to 80-something and 90-something. I'm almost 60, so given the pace of medical advances if I make it to 2020 my chances of seeing my 100th birthday approach unity. If I make it to 2040, my 200th is within reach. I have no reason to die, so hope to live indefinitely.

It doesn't work that way actually. The absolute maximum human lifespan seems to be ~120, and it hasn't moved significantly in basically forever. Only one person has ever made it past 120, and she died 15 years ago. Only 4 have ever made it past 116, none died in this century

The vast majority of the increase in lifespan is due over the past century is due to the reduction in childhood mortality. Vaccines and clean water are most of the rest, but lots of folks made it well into their 80s long ago provided they made it out of infancy.

We can nudge up the number a bit through better understanding of aging, diet, exercise and some medicine (My dad's 83 and still going strong) but the chances of you making to 200 without a breakthrough completely out of the blue are 0.

No argument from me on any of your points, so let me be explicit: I am maximizing my changes in the hopes of still being alive when those radical breakthroughs come along. As they will.

When I worked for Canadian immigration post-Haitian earthquake, we evacuated a woman at 115 (she claimed).

I don't any of us completely believed the claim. But, her documents were as good as they could possibly be (for a Haitian this means that her birth cert matched an identical record in the nat. archives); her story convinced the interviewing officer; she passed the physical (ridiculously); and, seeing as she'd never gone to the media there was no reason for us to think she'd start lying about it now.

I started to think there was something to the claim when she showed up at the embassy with her 96-year old daughter, who also passed the immigration criteria.